Off the Grid
by Pandora of Ithilien
Summary: When Gibbs and team - plus Abby and Ducky - head to London to investigate a Marine's death, they find out that things are not always what they seem, and death is not always as final as one thinks...
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Ashley and Paula are mine, along with anything you don't recognize. The rest isn't or else things would be very different in several shows.

A/N: To Paradigm Shift readers, I suggest checking out my fic Ripple Effect; to RE readers, check out PS. If you don't want to, though, just check my homepage in the Synopsis section, or PM me for details.

_**Prologue:**_ Jenny Shepard was only mildly surprised by her surroundings when she woke up. Far more shocking in her mind was the fact that she'd woken up at all. She honestly hadn't expected to survive the confrontation with Svytlena's hired guns.

"You know, it's a good thing my sister sees the future or you'd be dead right now," said a matter-of-fact voice. Jenny turned her head, looking into dark gold eyes.

"Paula, what are you doing here?" Jenny wanted to know. "If anyone from NCIS sees you - "

"We're in London, so that isn't likely, especially as they're planning your funeral right about now," Paula Ravenwood pointed out. She was perfectly calm as she spoke, something that could not be said for her audience.

"Excuse me?" It would have been a shout but Jenny's throat was too dry for her to raise her voice that much. Paula shrugged, unfazed by her friend's anger. She did, however, offer her some water, an offer Jenny accepted.

"We were going to fake your death anyway. I just… moved up the timetable. It made things simpler."

Jenny scowled, but she didn't really have a valid argument. Had she survived the murder attempt only to 'die' soon after in a car crash, people would have been suspicious. Jethro would have been, if no one else. And he would have gotten to the truth one way or another; he was good at that. So though she didn't like the idea of 'dying' like this – if nothing else, it occurred to her that Tony and Ziva could be in trouble, even though she'd ordered them to leave – there wasn't really a viable alternative.

"London?" she asked tiredly. "So you've got me hiding in Britain? Please say your contact isn't that flirty captain you told me about."

Paula chuckled. "Jack? No, though I think he'd love you, despite having a steady girlfriend. Her name is Ashley Stafford, she works with Torchwood and the Home Office."

"Friends in high places," Jenny commented.

"Me or her?"

"Both, apparently."

"True. But you have to admit that's good news for you, at least at the moment. I'm using those connections right now. Look, Jen, I did talk to Alex – oh, and Dr. Mallard."

Jen frowned. "We already said Alex had to know – I wasn't about to have my sister thinking I was dead, not when we're all the family each other has. But why talk to Ducky?"

"Because what I did to fool DiNozzo and David was just a glamour. Won't stand up to an autopsy, and I didn't want to mind-rape him. I did some research on your ME to see if I had another option, turned out he worked with Jack once. I explained it to him like that."

"I doubt he took it well."

"No, but he agreed to keep quiet."

"What did that take?"

"I simply explained that if he said something, he'd be putting his friends in danger."

"So, blackmail, basically."

"I wouldn't go that far…"

"I would," said a British voice from the doorway. "Though if it's effective, keep it up, Ravenwood."

Jenny and Paula both looked at the newcomer. She was a tall woman in her mid to late twenties, with bobbed black hair and sparkling green eyes. "Oh, very funny, Ashley," Paula said irritably. Then she sighed when Ashley simply grinned at her.

"What? You're dragging me into this; I figure I can hassle you a little."

"First of all, you owe me, remember? And secondly… Actually, I don't have a second point. You owe me, Stafford, so quit complaining."

"Right," Ashley said, rolling her eyes and stepping closer to the bed. "So you're Jenny Shepard, right? I'm Ashley Stafford."

"Nice to meet you," Jenny managed. This girl was going to be her handler – for lack of a better term – while she was here? She was so young – granted, she was older than Paula had been on the New Orleans op, but only by a few years.

_Don't worry, Ashley's a professional. She had some really crazy shit almost a year ago, and she handled it well. Her job's not exactly a safe one, she's not naïve. She just likes riling me up – she's usually much more serious than this_. Paula's voice slid silkily through Jenny's mind, guessing what was wrong and trying to alleviate Jenny's concerns.

Jenny relaxed a little; she trusted Paula enough to give Stafford a chance. And it seemed she'd been right, because as the dark-haired woman took the chair on Jenny's other side, all levity disappeared from her demeanor. "So, what exactly do we know so far about this?"

"How much did Paula tell you about Nash?" Jenny asked.

"She gave me the file, so I know what this guy can do. I know he's a projective null, and that means I can't pick him up. I also know that you need a new name, records, everything required in a cover ID, and it's all in this file." She pulled it out and waved it in Jenny's face. Then she sighed, leaning back a little. "Is that enough?"

"Yes," Jenny told her. Paula was eyeing the younger woman with some amusement.

"Tired, Ash?"

"You try spending half the night chasing Smilodon cubs so you can send them and their mother back without her going apeshit and see how you feel," the dark haired Brit shot back, her voice dripping sarcasm.

"Smilodons? Aren't they saber-toothed tigers?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah," Stafford said. "Oh, Ravenwood didn't tell you? I work in anomalies – holes in time and space – and containing the creatures that come out of them."

"What, like dinosaurs?"

"Among other things."

Jenny shook her head, glancing at Paula. "Does anyone you know work in normal things?"

"Yeah, you." Jenny rolled her eyes and Stafford laughed.

"Oh, this is going to be fun, I can see that."

"Your idea of fun is alarming, Stafford," Jenny observed.

"It's Ashley, Ms. Shepard. Or rather, Ms. James," Ashley corrected herself, opening the file and showing the contents to Jenny.

"Samantha James," Jenny said, taking the file and looking through it. This was really happening. Somehow it hadn't seemed real until she held the papers in her hand that contained her new identity. She took a deep, steadying breath, trying not to think of what she was leaving behind.

Samantha James was an American expatriate, a private detective, and a loner. She wasn't married or in a relationship. She had no living relatives and few friends. She had certainly never felt almost like a mother for a group of close-knit but extremely quirky 'kids', nor had she ever fallen in love with a blue-eyed federal agent that she'd never quite gotten over. That had happened for Jenny, but for the moment Jenny was dead. She could handle that, she could be Samantha. For the sake of the people in the life she'd left behind, she could do whatever she had to.


	2. The Trouble With Redheads

Disclaimer: Alex is mine, that's about it. Oh, and DESI belongs to me.

A/N: Quick note here; Alex is affiliated with the SGC, from the Stargate franchise. Other than references like the ones in this chapter, that fandom is not in this particular story. It's a set-up for another upcoming piece in the series.

_**Chapter 1 – The Trouble With Redheads:**_ "So you're going to let the Brits tell NCIS what to do?"

NCIS Director Leon Vance bristled at the faint taunt in the question. "I know why the Home Office doesn't want us involved, and I agree. As a DESI agent, you should too."

His visitor chuckled. "You know as well as I do that DESI's newly promoted Assistant Director and her British friend Stafford just doesn't want anyone messing with their side op."

"I would think you'd want the same thing, considering your sister's involvement in it," he pointed out mildly.

The redhead rolled her eyes. "You know I never agreed with it. Ravenwood didn't tell me till it was all over. And my sister's always been good at keeping her cards close to her chest."

"Very true. So why are you here?"

"I had to talk to General O'Neill and decided to swing by and meddle a little. Why don't you send Gibbs' team to London?"

Vance blinked, too stunned to react for a moment. "That would be a disaster. Your sister would kill you."

"She's planned to before, and always decides not to. And I'm well aware of the mess it would cause. That's the idea."

Vance's eyebrows shot up. "You're crazy, and I'm not getting involved."

"I'm sure I could change your mind."

"Oh?"

"Well, I'm stopping by the main office before I catch my flight back to Colorado. I thought I might have a chat with your wife."

"You wouldn't."

"Leon, you know me. What do you think?"

"You're actually planning on using my wife to blackmail me?"

"If that's what it takes."

Green eyes glittered as she stared him down, and Vance found himself recalling a debate between him and Alan Greer about which of the Shepard sisters was more trouble, Jennifer or Alexandra. Jenny's position had given her a wider range, but looking at Alex now, he almost wished for the older sister back. With Jenny, sometimes you could win with logic. Alex, on the other hand, was immovable once she got an idea into her head. He sighed. Dealing with his wife over something like this was not something he wanted to face.

"Fine. But I'd better not take the fall for this."

* * *

Anthony DiNozzo wasn't the most diligent person when it came to writing reports, but he usually got them done. 'Usually' did not include the days when he was distracted by a beautiful woman. Today was one of those days.

"Who is _that_?" he wondered aloud, his eyes on the redhead striding out of the Director's office. There was something oddly familiar about her.

"A new agent, maybe?" Timothy McGee suggested.

"She's hot, whoever she is," Tony declared. His partner, Ziva David, rolled her eyes.

"Do you ever stop thinking with your libido, Tony?" she asked impatiently.

"Not when there's a beautiful woman involved – though since she's about to walk into Gibbs and she has that certain hair color, I guess I should get back to work.

* * *

L. Jethro Gibbs was about to leave the elevator when his path was blocked by an unknown redhead. For once it wasn't the hair that drew his attention but the bright green eyes that left him feeling like someone had just punched him in the gut. They were far too much like the eyes of a redhead he'd spent the last ten months trying to forget.

"Excuse me," she said, slipping past him. He left the elevator and went to his desk, feeling unsettled, and not just because of the memories running through his mind. When the woman had spoken, something about her voice had seemed familiar. He was sure he knew that voice, but he hadn't the faintest clue why.

* * *

In the elevator, Alex closed her eyes, leaning against the wall. Jen had been right about the blue eyes. The haunted look in them, however, while not entirely unexpected, was worse than she could have anticipated, and far too similar to the lost look in her sister's eyes. That look was one she'd seen before, of course, the first time she'd seen Jenny after the Paris Incident, as Alex had silently dubbed it. With those two, love and pain seemed to be permanently intertwined.

She was even more convinced now that she was doing the right thing. She knew that Vance thought she was meddling just for her own amusement – she'd encouraged that perception, after all – but she was genuinely worried about her sister. She knew why Jen had done what she had, but Alex couldn't agree with her reasons. She'd never believed in trying to protect people by cutting them out. Especially not when anyone who knew Jen well – a short list, admittedly – could see how much it was hurting her. But Jenny was determined to keep the people she saw as her family out of this debacle, considering what had happened the last time they'd been caught up in one of her personal issues. Unfortunately, Jenny didn't see the difference between manipulation for the sake of a personal vendetta and asking for help because of something that she couldn't control.

She'd have even kept Alex out of the matter – though Alex liked to think Jenny wouldn't have let her believe the death story – but since what had gone wrong was a DESI matter, Paula Ravenwood had elected to tell her exactly what was going on.

However, otherwise she wasn't involved. Even though Nash was tied to the Trust and Alex was in charge of the Trust investigation, Ravenwood had informed her that she was put to best use at her liaison post with the SGC. Alex wasn't happy, but Ravenwood outranked her, and there wasn't anything she could do directly. So since she couldn't watch her sister's back personally, she'd make sure trustworthy people could.

Why Gibbs' team? They were on Jen's short list, and that was good enough for her. Also, since they weren't under DESI control, there wasn't much Ravenwood could do once they were there and found out that Jenny was alive. She was counting on Gibbs' stubbornness to win out against any attempt Ravenwood made to get rid of the NCIS agents.

And of course, there were the personal considerations. After all, she'd been the one to lock Sam Carter and Jack O'Neill in a closet, and she was giving serious consideration to a similar tactic for Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran. Something needed to be done, and being able to do it while keeping her sister safe seemed like a great deal to her.


	3. London Calling

Disclaimer: Not mine, with the exception of any original characters.

_**Chapter 2 – London Calling:**_ It was only about fifteen minutes after the redhead left when Gibbs' phone rang. "Gibbs."

"I want you and your team in the conference room," Vance's voice came over the phone.

"Why?"

"I'll tell you when you get up here." He hung up, and Gibbs scowled at the phone before standing. His team looked up, curious. "Director wants us upstairs," he said before heading for the staircase. His team followed.

In the conference room, Vance sat at the head of the long table, looking unhappy. "I'm sure you heard about the death of Major Jacob Caine and that the British Home Office asked us to stand down."

"I was under the impression we agreed to that, Director," Gibbs said, his tone of voice making it clear that the idea of not even investigating a Marine's death did not sit well with him.

"Initially we did, but that has changed. You and your team are going to London. Take Dr. Mallard and Miss Sciuto with you. I'm not sure we can trust their experts."

The team exchanged looks. That didn't sound good. Ziva, who had worked in the U.K. before, asked, "Director, is Torchwood involved?"

Gibbs noticed that Vance tensed slightly before answering. "No, Officer David, not as far as I know – though I'm surprised you even know about Torchwood."

"MI6 and the Home Office complain about Torchwood regularly," Ziva explained. "The level of secrecy sounds like something they'd do."

"Well, it's not them, just the Home Office being territorial," Vance said flatly. "You can go," he added. "I suggest you head home to pack."

He wasn't telling them everything. Gibbs' gut was screaming it. Vance was hiding something; he just didn't know what. Torchwood… what the hell was that?

"So what's Torchwood?" tony asked as they headed back to the bullpen, his question an eerie echo of Gibbs' thoughts.

"I don't know exactly," Ziva admitted. "No one seems to. But they take over on unusual cases, and the other British agencies hate them for it."

"Sounds like DESI," McGee commented.

Gibbs scowled. DESI was a thorn in the side of every other federal agency. Even the CIA couldn't find out what they did or block them from cases, which was saying something. There'd been a rumor circulating a little over eight years ago about then-Director Morrow managing to push a joint DESI-NCIS operation, but he'd never heard anything more about it than that.

If this Torchwood was Britain's DESI was involved in Major Caine's death, they'd have a fight on their hands. Fine by him.

* * *

Technically Torchwood _was_ involved, in the person of liaison officer Dr. Ashley Stafford. Ashley and Home Office field representative Claudia Brown were standing in their boss' office. Sir James Lester was clearly furious.

"First NCIS Director Vance tells me he's ex-DESI and he understands the need for discretion. Now he's informed me that an NCIS team will be here tomorrow to investigate the American soldier's death. Have you any idea of the disaster this could be?

"It's hardly our fault," Ashley snapped. "Seems like Vance is throwing his weight around."

"I'm sure there's a way to head the team off," Claudia cut in. After nearly two years of working the anomaly project, she'd learned when intervention was necessary to avoid a fight. Ashley and Lester almost always needed mediation – it was worse than Lester and Nick had been in the project's early days.

"The two of you, along with Cutter and Hart, will meet them at the airport tomorrow," Lester ordered. "Give the appearance of cooperation, but do not let them work out the truth."

"No, of course not," Claudia said, shooting a warning look at Ashley. The younger woman didn't seem to need it, though. There was an oddly distant look in her eyes.

"Lester? Did Vance give you any names?" Ashley asked.

"Yes, he said an Agent Gibbs would be leading the investigation. Why?"

"We need names if we're to get the right people, yes?" Ashley replied casually.

"Right," Lester said skeptically. "You can go."

Outside the office, Claudia grabbed Ashley's wrist. "That was rubbish, Ashley. Why did you really ask?"

"You know I've got American friends, right?"

"Yeah, but – "

"The agencies keep track of each other. Gibbs is a bulldog. He never lets up."

"Oh, wonderful," Claudia commented. "That's exactly what we need. Well, I'm going to give Nick the news."

"I'll find Stephen."

When Claudia left, Ashley sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Unbeknownst to her coworkers, the NCIS team picked for this job complicated matters for her. It looked as though Paula's little favor had come back to haunt her after all, just as she'd suspected it would.

* * *

Usually, sanding his boat cleared Gibbs' head. He'd only needed about fifteen minutes to pack, and he had a few hours before the flight, so he'd decided to work on the boat. But for once it wasn't working. He just had too much on his mind.

DiNozzo had a theory that the strange redhead who'd visited Vance was the reason they were being sent to London. He had a point, Gibbs decided. Didn't mean he was right, but he could be.

The thing was, he knew that woman. He'd seen her before somewhere. He'd heard her voice. He just didn't know where.

Realization dawned and he dropped his sander, a sharp jolt of emotion running through his system. He'd seen her at Arlington ten months ago, at a funeral where they'd given her the flag. And he knew her voice because once, in Paris nearly a decade ago, he'd answered the wrong cell phone.

Alexandra Shepard. Jenny's little sister. What the hell was she doing at NCIS? If he remembered correctly, she was a civilian scientist contracted by the Air Force. She had no business at NCIS, especially with the Director – not anymore.

So why was she there? And was there really a connection between her visit and this trip to London? She'd come and gone, and then Vance had called them in. It was too much of a coincidence, especially for a man who didn't believe in them.

* * *

Ashley, Claudia, Nick, and Stephen were getting ready to leave for the airport the next morning when Claudia's mobile rang. "Hello?"

"Miss Brown, I need you back here," Lester said. Claudia frowned. Not only was this a very sudden change of plans – and therefore quite uncharacteristic of Lester – but her boss sounded positively harassed.

"Sir, what's going on?" she asked cautiously. "I thought – "

"Just get back here, Claudia." The sharp command was followed by a dial tone. Claudia looked at the others.

"Everything all right?" Nick asked.

"There's been a change of plans. Lester doesn't want me going with you. He's got something else for me to do."

"Did he say what?" Ashley wanted to know.

"No. He was rather short-tempered, actually. I suppose I'll find out soon enough."

Ashley watched her go with a growing sense of trepidation. What could be so important that Lester would risk not sending Claudia to meet the NCIS agents? Ashley and Stephen might be willing to play nice, but the only way Nick would was if Claudia made sure of it. Whatever was going on had to be serious – and Ashley could think of only one thing that fit the bill. If she was right, this already delicate situation was about to become far more precarious.

Her unease only worsened when they reached the airport and met the team. The look in Agent Gibbs' eyes was one she'd become very familiar with over the years. It meant that the person who wore it knew something wasn't right and was willing to do whatever was necessary to reach the truth. It was a look that never boded well. And in this situation, it was even worse than usual.

A/N: No, Ashley doesn't see the future, she's just cynical. And quite possibly right, in this case...


	4. Murphy's Law

Disclaimer: Not mine, with the exception of any original characters.

_**Chapter 3 – Murphy's Law:**_ Having returned from the airport and set up shop in a conference room back at the Home Office, Ashley, Nick, and Stephen studied the NCIS agents, uncertain as to how to proceed. They couldn't tell them the truth about what had killed Major Caine or _why_ he'd been killed. Helen really liked using animals as weapons, and she was fond of calling cards as well. So was her partner in crime, which was why the mauled body had turned up in a lake.

Gibbs was staring them down, with a look that would have made most people cave. Nick, however, was simply staring back, unmoved. Ashley could read his thoughts as easily as if she were telepathic. Nick was not about to be intimidated by any one man, not after staring down future predators, watching a friend die, and spending six months believing his actions had destroyed the world he knew.

Ashley looked at two of the Americans, Special Agent Timothy McGee and forensic specialist Abby Sciuto. They were watching Gibbs the way she was watching Nick – waiting for the explosion.

That was when Stephen broke in, clearing his throat. "Look, we can't tell you what killed your marine. I wish we could."

"That's not good enough," Gibbs snapped.

"Why not just tell us and say you didn't?" Agent DiNozzo suggested. Ashley would have laughed if she weren't so tense. Nick and Stephen only had the secrecy of the project to worry about. She, however, had another concern, one that would be far more personal for the NCIS agents than an uncooperative foreign agency.

She knew that Lester was being stubborn about Nash, and that Paula and Jenny were trying to talk to him. What she didn't know was whether or not they were here today.

Claudia's absence from this little meeting seemed to suggest it. Usually their civil servant would mediate this kind of thing, but Lester had called her away. He'd actually been willing to take a chance on Nick's… undiplomatic ways. Maybe he trusted her and Stephen to smooth things over, but it was more likely that Lester wanted backup.

If there was a confrontation… Jenny didn't want her former coworkers to know she was still alive. She was afraid that if they got involved in the Nash situation, they'd get hurt. Apparently she'd involved them in a personal vendetta and it had caused some damage. Ashley didn't have the details, but she knew that much. She supposed it made sense, after a fashion.

Still, she acted like she had no more on her mind than the others did. "We can't do that, Agent DiNozzo," she said sweetly. "They have dreadful ways to see if we've talked, and even worse punishments."

He just grinned. "I could protect you," he assured her, his blue-green eyes sparkling. Ashley rolled her eyes. This one had to meet Jack. They could have a playboy contest.

"If you two are done flirting, I want some answers. A Marine is dead, and I want to know why." Gibbs' temper was clearly about to reach breaking point.

Nick, Stephen, and Ashley shared an exasperated glance. This just couldn't be easy, could it?

* * *

"I thought your name was Samantha James, Miss Shepard." It probably wasn't the wisest comment, but Claudia couldn't think of another at the moment.

Samantha – _Jenny_, Claudia reminded herself – smiled thinly. "As I said, Nash came after me, and he threatened the people around me, so I thought it best to disappear for a while. Paula and Ashley helped me do that."

"Which is part of why we need Nash," Paula cut in, with a glare at Lester.

"No," he said flatly.

"He's American and on our Most Wanted list. More, he's our only link to the Trust, an organization DESI has been trying to take down for the better part of a decade. You have no jurisdiction on this."

"On the contrary. Nash is also the only link to Helen Cutter, who is at the very top of _our_ Most Wanted list. That makes him ours, Assistant Director Ravenwood."

"Release him to us if and when you catch him, and we'll get the information you want," Jenny cut in, a hint of impatience coloring her tone. Claudia could understand that; apparently the redhead's 'death' was tied to whether or not Nash went into American custody.

"When we catch him, _we_ will get the information we need from him, and then you may have him," Lester counter-offered.

"We can't afford to wait for you to catch and break Nash. We can do it faster," Jenny snapped.

"You mean you personally can't afford to wait. I'm afraid you'll have to," Lester informed her coldly.

"Fine," Paula shot back. She and Jenny left. Claudia turned to Lester.

"Can't we compromise?" she suggested.

"No. that bloody woman has slipped through our fingers far too many times now. This man Nash might be our last chance to apprehend her, and I'll not have the Americans sabotaging that."

* * *

"Can't you make him turn Nash over?" Jenny demanded.

"Telepathically? No. I have the ability, but you know I won't go there." Paula sighed. "Frankly, I'm surprised at how… militant you are about it. I thought you weren't sure you wanted to 'come back to life'."

"I'm not, but I want it to be my choice. Does that make sense?"

"What doesn't make sense is why you don't want to go back. From what you've said, you consider them to be as much your family as Alex is."

"After all that happened, they're probably happier without me."

Paula wanted to argue that point. She'd been at Jenny's funeral, and she'd seen the pain her friend's 'death' had caused. She opened her mouth to say as much, but was interrupted.

"Shepard! Ravenwood!" It was Claudia Brown. The auburn-haired woman was jogging to catch up with them. "Look," she said when she reached them, "I'm sorry about Lester. It's just – well, we thought we had Helen last year, so Lester wants to be absolutely sure we don't lose her this time."

"That's understandable but he needs to learn cooperation," Jenny observed.

"It's a weird sector thing. Hasling's much the same, only worse, and Jack's got a touch of it as well."

"You don't," Jenny argued.

"Well, it's like Republicans and Democrats. You know, all politicians, but they have different methods?"

"Oh."

"So," Claudia interrupted, "I was thinking that perhaps we could work together. Lester won't release Nash to you until he gives us Helen, but you need him to take down this Trust. Lester agreed that you could be involved in the investigation, and he even suggested that if you want to speed things up, you could help us with Helen."

Jenny and Paula glanced at each other. It was a typical offer, and very slanted in the Home Office's favor, but better than nothing. "You know, that could work," Paula admitted.

As they turned a corner, Jenny was about to add a comment of her own when she was cut off by a shriek. The next second, as far as Paula could tell, a black blur had collided with her, almost knocking the older redhead off her feet.

Paula glanced down the hall, seeing Ashley Stafford – who was looking more than a little worried – and NCIS M.E. Dr. Mallard. _OK__, how the hell did this happen?_

* * *

"We can't tell you the truth because you can't handle it!"

When Nick said that, Ashley knew it was time to intervene. "Nick, calm down," she said. Then she turned to the NCIS agents. "Look, you have a point. You've got the right to investigate. So, Dr. Mallard? Miss Sciuto? Would you like to see the body and the forensic evidence?"

They did, so she left with them, leading the way to the morgue. She wanted to hustle the Americans along, just in case.

A few hallways later, she felt a strange tingling on her skin. Ashley was a sensitive; it meant, among other things, that she could sense magic handlers. At this particular strength, it could only be a handful of people. And of those, only one had a reason to be here.

There wasn't time to change direction before three women turned a corner into the same corridor as Ashley, Abby, and Dr. Mallard. When the Americans saw one of the women, they froze. Abby gasped before letting out an excited shriek and racing down the hallway. Dr. Mallard stiffened slightly, clearly worried about where this would lead. Ashley couldn't blame him. She was worried too. Because while Abby might be happy to see Jenny, the others might react differently. They might remember more quickly that she'd let them think she was dead. No matter what happened, this would be messy.

* * *

They heard the shriek from two corridors over as Dr. Hart and Professor Cutter led them to Cutter's office. Apparently the man had photos of the crime scene. Tony was just glad that Cutter had stopped trying to block them. All it had taken was a quick phone call from a woman named Claudia and he'd become cooperative, albeit grudgingly.

Tony wanted to meet this Claudia and thank her on bended knee. If Cutter had kept pushing Gibbs, the boss would have made all their lives hell.

Abby's shriek interrupted his musings. Gibbs, of course, was halfway down the hall before anyone else reacted. McGee said, "She sounded happy."

"Yes, but why?" Ziva questioned as they followed Gibbs.

"We've had some Americans popping in and out lately," Stephen said. "There's this woman Ravenwood, and Samantha, a friend of Ashley's. Maybe your Abby knows one of them?"

Around the corner, they heard Abby say, "I'm really glad you're not dead! I knew something wasn't right! But why didn't you tell us?"

_Wait, what?_ Who was Abby talking to? Then they heard the response, and all of them – even Gibbs – froze.

"I'm sorry, Abby. I… It's hard to explain."

That voice was familiar, but it was impossible. Jenny Shepard was dead. Tony had checked her body for a pulse himself. Ziva looked at him, clearly thinking along the same lines.

Gibbs snapped out of his shock and raced around the corner. Tony, Ziva, and McGee were right behind him. Cutter and Hart, though confused, also followed.

Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, and McGee stopped dead when they saw Jenny. Gibbs knew his team was behind him but he didn't really care. His entire focus was on the woman that Abby was still clinging to.

"Jen." His own voice sounded oddly hoarse in his ears. She looked at him, green eyes wary.

It was the younger redhead's words that brought them all out of their stunned silence. "Oh, I am going to _kill_ Leon."

A/N: The title makes sense now, yes?


	5. Surprises

Disclaimer: Not mine, with the exception of any original characters.

_**Chapter 4 – Surprises:**_ "Vance knows about this?" Gibbs snapped.

"Uh, Paula, maybe that wasn't the wisest comment?" Stafford said, giving the redhead – Paula? – an exasperated look.

"Relax, Ash," she shot back.

"Shepard, Ravenwood, what the hell is going on here?" The speaker was an auburn-haired woman standing near Jenny.

"Claudia – " Stafford began, only to be cut off by Paula, whose last name was apparently Ravenwood.

"Remember that whole Jenny faking her death thing we explained about? I think we forgot to mention she was the Director of NCIS at the time."

"Wait, I thought your name was Samantha," Stephen said to Jenny.

"Yeah…" Jenny said, shrugging. "Legally it is. Technically."

"What is with you people?" Tony said, looking completely lost.

"Does it matter?" Gibbs didn't care about the case anymore, or the things these people were hiding. All he cared about was Jen. The woman in question looked at him again.

"You want answers," she observed quietly.

"Damn right I want answers. It's been _ten months_, Jen." Ten months thinking she was dead, that he'd lost her for good this time…

"I know. It's complicated."

"'Complicated'? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he snapped.

"Jethro – " Jenny began, only to be cut off by Cutter.

"Will someone please explain what's going on here?" the Professor asked irritably.

"Ashley and I can explain," Ravenwood offered. Glancing at Stafford, she added, "Unless you were going somewhere?"

"Um, the morgue. I can explain to Miss Sciuto and Dr. Mallard down there. If that's all right?" Looking to Ducky and Abby, she received nods from them both – although Abby's nod was accompanied by a look in her eyes that suggested she had something unpleasant to say – and the three of them continued in the same direction they'd originally been going.

Cutter, Hart, and Claudia Brown left with Ravenwood, but it took Gibbs a moment to realize that Tony, Ziva, and McGee had fled with them. He and Jenny had been left alone in the hallway.

* * *

"You knew," Abby said flatly, glaring at Ducky. The doctor found himself thinking that Jethro would be proud; she was doing quite a good job of imitating the agent's signature look. It made him flinch slightly – she was right after all – but he still met the Goth's accusing gaze steadily.

"Yes, I knew that Jennifer was still alive. Ravenwood came to see me and explained a little of the situation."

Abby's expression, if possible, got even angrier. "How could you? When Tony and Ziva were guilt-tripping themselves and Vance ripped the team apart? And Gibbs! Losing Jenny broke his heart and you _knew_ that! Why would you just let that happen?"

"Because she wanted him to," Ashley cut in softly. Abby turned to her, shock written all over her face. Ashley continued, "Jenny didn't want you guys to get hurt."

"But if she didn't want us hurt she would have said something," Abby argued.

"I meant physically, she's in a bit of a bind." Ashley could have added that Jenny hadn't thought her 'death' would have a deep effect on those she left behind, but it was clear that Abby didn't need to hear that; it would only upset her more. So she continued with the more relevant issue.

"See, about eight years ago, she and the other redhead you saw, Paula, worked on a joint op. Nash, the man they were chasing, is a serial killer. He escaped last year, and ten months back, the other DESI agent on that case was found murdered – in Nash's trademark fashion. I got involved to help hide Jenny – I owed Paula a favor, this was how she collected it – and then we found out that Nash had ties to a woman our group here at the Home Office has been looking for."

Abby frowned. "But I still don't get why she didn't say anything. We could've helped."

"No, Abby, I don't think we could have," said Ducky.

"Why?" Abby demanded. Ducky glanced at Ashley.

Ashley took a deep breath. This part – the reveal – was always nerve-wracking for her. It could go so many ways, and several of them were bad. "Do you remember on the drive over, your friend Ziva asking if we were connected to Torchwood?"

"Yeah," Abby said slowly.

"Well, I am. I'm a Torchwood liaison officer attached to the Home Office."

"That doesn't explain why we couldn't help Jenny."

"I'm getting there. Torchwood, DESI, this Home Office project, we all deal with similar things." Ashley paused. Lester was going to kill her. Though honestly, she didn't much care. "Do you want to know what we do?"

* * *

"Aliens, magic, and dinosaurs? Yeah, OK," DiNozzo said.

Paula rolled her eyes. Typical reaction. "Trust me, Agent DiNozzo, it's true."

"If it helps, most of us felt the same way," Stephen offered.

"Do you have any proof?" Ziva wanted to know.

Paula grinned. "Actually, yes." After which, she orbed out and back in again.

The NCIS agents just stared at her, open-mouthed. McGee was the first to recover. "Well, Abby is going to love this."

"So that's how we got fooled in L.A., a little hocus pocus? Please tell me Jenny's not a witch," DiNozzo said irritably.

"Jenny? God no. I'm the only witch around here – so far as I know. Check with Ashley; she doesn't have any active abilities but she's a walking power detector," Paula informed him. What she didn't explain was that anyone hiding their abilities from her wouldn't consider Ashley a threat worth shielding from – which would be a mistake.

"Why didn't we know that?" Cutter asked, frowning.

"Because Ashley didn't tell you. Take it up with her. So you lot want explanations, right?"

"Uh, yeah," DiNozzo drawled.

"That would be nice," Claudia said at the same time. Paula nodded.

"All right. It started about eight years ago with a DESI/NCIS joint op. Jenny was the NCIS agent; I was the DESI one. We caught the perp – a guy named Nash – and it all seemed to be over. Then Nash broke out, our handler turned up dead, Jenny got threats, and… Well, it went to hell from there." She looked at Cutter and smiled, but not in a friendly way. "And it only got worse when your ex-wife got involved, Professor."

* * *

Jenny's eyes flicked around the corridor, almost as if she were looking for some kind of escape. Giving up, she looked at Gibbs, her expression defiant. "Whatever you're going to say, Jethro – "

"What, Jen? You going to say you 'did what was best for you'? That's an excuse, not an answer."

"Oh, like you really gave a damn about an administrative change once you had your team back. Please, Jethro. You're just pissed that I didn't tell you."

"Damn right I am. What the hell were you thinking? You could have died for real in that diner! Or didn't you care?"

"For your information, that was never supposed to be the scenario!" she snapped. "So you can stop treating me like an idiot. Especially since I was trying to make sure there were less people to come after you!"

"Damn it, that case was from when we were partners. You should have told me then, and you should have told me they were back ten months ago."

"Why, so you could swoop in and save the day? I never needed saving, Jethro, not then and not now."

"Well, you could have fooled – " Two people turned into the hallway then, and Gibbs broke off to glare at them for interrupting. The petite woman with short, spiky blonde hair glared right back, while the young man, whose untidy black hair stuck out from under his cap, looked between Jenny and Gibbs uncertainly.

"Samantha, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Her name's Jenny, not Samantha," Gibbs snapped, and both of the newcomers frowned. Jenny scowled.

"I can speak for myself, thanks. Connor, it's a long story, but basically I'm here because your boss is being an asshole."

"Lester's always an asshole," said the blonde matter-of-factly. "I'm Abby, by the way, and this is Connor," she added, looking at Gibbs.

"Gibbs," he said shortly.

"And how about you, Samantha? Or is it Jenny?"

"It's Jenny, Jenny Shepard. And before you ask, I was in hiding. It's all tied into your boss being difficult."

"Right…" said Abby, shaking her head.

"So what did Lester do now?" Connor wanted to know.

"He's being uncooperative. Do you guys know about Nash?" Jenny asked.

"Just that he's some new American buddy of Helen's," Connor said.

"Oh, yeah, they fit so well together, in a lower circle of hell kind of way," cut in a new voice. Paula was back, with the rest of the anomaly crew and Gibbs' team. Tony, Ziva, and McGee all had similar expressions on their faces, ones that Jenny understood and could sympathize with. She hadn't had a chance to give Jethro any details of the world Vance had so unceremoniously dumped them all into, but clearly Paula and the others had told his agents.

"Let me guess, all fighting and no explanations?" Paula asked Jenny, her voice lightly teasing.

"Shut up."

"Which means yes. And that means, Agent Gibbs, that you're the only one who doesn't know what's going on."

"We don't know all that much either, only that you can teleport with blue lights and that this guy Nash who tried to kill the – er… Jenny? – is working with Professor Cutter's crazy ex-wife," Tony pointed out.

"True." She slanted a look at Cutter even as Ashley, Ducky, and Abby came back. "Say, Professor, think Lester will let me use the conference room?"

Cutter sighed. "I don't see why not."

A/N: Poor Abby and Connor... The uninitiated walking into a Jibbs fight is a scary thing. For anyone wondering how Ducky knew, check out my oneshot To Do No Harm.


	6. Explanations

Disclaimer: Not mine.

_**Chapter 5 – Explanations:**_ "OK, so, since all of you know some of this, let your minds wander freely during the familiar bits," Ravenwood began when they were all seated. "First things first. DESI stands for Department of Extraterrestrial and Supernatural Investigation."

Gibbs, the only one who hadn't gotten any of this, glared at her. "And you actually think – "

"She's telling the truth, Boss. Seriously," Tony said. Ziva and McGee nodded; Jenny had an odd half-smile on her face, eerily similar to Ravenwood's.

"Somehow I feel like I've been here before," Ravenwood mused. Jenny frowned, but her eyes were amused.

"Watch that," the former Director warned.

"Oh, I'm so scared," Paula quipped, smirking. "Although, Jenny, you weren't that hard to convince."

"You started poking around in my head!"

"I was not poking, I was talking."

"Which is creepy enough," Ashley put in. "Can we get back to the subject at hand?"

"Sure, but I want one thing answered. Why did Vance send anyone at all? I thought he was leaving this one alone," Paula said.

"He realized what his job is. And how the hell do you know him?" Gibbs shot back.

"We were going to leave it alone," McGee said helpfully, "but then a woman showed up, and… well, we think she had something to do with it."

At that, Ashley, Jenny, and Paula exchanged a significant look. "Told you she was getting fed up," Ashley muttered.

"What did this woman look like?" Paula asked, ignoring the Brit.

"Medium height, redhead, total knockout," Tony said, grinning reminiscently.

"It was Alex Shepard," Gibbs said bluntly. "I figured it out later that day."

"Damn it, Alex," Jenny said, shaking her head. "And DiNozzo, if I _ever_ catch you eyeing up my sister…"

"Won't happen again, ma'am."

"Well, now that we've got that cleared up – " Paula began, only to be cut off by Gibbs.

"I'm still waiting to find out just how Vance knows you, and what this whole thing's about."

"I already said – " This time it was Jenny who cut her off.

"Paula, just prove it, don't try talking him into believing it."

Paula raised her eyebrows, but nodded. "OK." _Gibbs, I told you the truth._

Gibbs froze, actually paling slightly. That wasn't something his team had seen since… Actually, they'd never seen it. "Get the hell out of my head," he told her, his voice low and angry.

_Well, hell, Jenny, you didn't say he'd react like that! _Paula shot the thought to her friend irritably, and Jenny jerked a bit in surprise.

_Figured you wouldn't do it if I had, and we need to get a move on. _

"Right," Paula said to her, scowling. The others frowned, confused, except for Ashley, who was rubbing the goosebumps on her arms.

"Could you not talk mind-to-mind with people when I'm sitting next to you?" she requested.

"Oh, sorry, Ash. I forgot." She cleared her throat. "Well, now that everyone believes me, Vance… He's one of us."

"What?!" This time it wasn't only Gibbs who spoke, but the entire NCIS team. Jenny was silent; Paula had told her months ago, but she could relate to their shock. She'd felt the same way. Paula reacted much the same way she had when it had been Jenny's shock she faced; with an exasperated sigh and an eyeroll.

"He's a shadow agent – an undercover agent placed so that any cases of interest to DESI get flagged for us, and don't go to anyone else. We've got them in all the federal agencies and in the police forces of most major U.S. cities."

"That's disturbing," said Tony. "Very Big Brother of you."

"It's illegal," Gibbs said.

"No, it's not. Officially we don't exist; that means we can do whatever we want."

"That's disturbing," Nick observed.

"Technically, Torchwood has the same capabilities," Paula shot back.

"You just had to bring that up," Ashley muttered as her coworkers gave her sharp looks. "Thanks, Paula, really."

"I swear, we only use our powers for good," Paula said lightly.

"That's a relative term," Abby S. grumbled. While Ashley had convinced her that Jenny had thought this was the best thing to do – and she would have to talk to Mommy about that – Abby S. disagreed completely. And it seemed to her that Paula's _carte blanche_ abilities had created a lot of this mess, and she certainly didn't think that was "good".

"Anyway," Paula said, irritated, "this all began eight years ago, when a senior DESI agent, Alan Greer screwed up a job. He was supposed to be shadowing Robert Nash, a former agent gone rogue, in order to track down his contacts and bring down a group we call the Trust. I got called in to… neutralize his mistake." Before he'd killed a Marine, the original plan had been for her to go in and wipe his mind; not with telepathy as his own abilities protected him from her magic, but with retcon given to them by Yvonne Hartman.

She cleared her throat and continued. "Things changed when he killed a Marine, and – "

"Why did he kill a Marine?" Gibbs wanted to know.

"He was kicked out of the Corps on a drug violation," Jenny put in. "So, when he killed the Marine, then-Director Morrow saw an opportunity to get one over on DESI. So he called me in from Europe, because I'd been establishing a reputation as someone who was good at working with other agencies."

"Good enough that Hasling would have stolen you," Paula teased. "But that's largely irrelevant. So, we got thrown into an undercover job in New Orleans, and managed to catch Nash and all but two of his people. Ashley and I were involved in catching one of them, David Barnes, back in '05, and the other – "

"Was Helen," Nick said. Paula hadn't actually said as much to them; she'd only said that Helen was working with Nash and that it wasn't the first time she'd done so, but it wasn't difficult to put the pieces together.

"Yes," Paula said. "I'm sorry, Professor."

"Don't be. There's nothing between us, and there hasn't been for a while."

_Keep telling yourself that_, Paula thought. Technically he was telling the truth, in that he no longer had any romantic feelings for Helen, but there was still something between them. It wasn't anything good, but it was still there. She could tell; it was all too clear that things had not been put to rest there – understandably so, but the point remained.

"So, we caught Nash, but he swore revenge, especially on me, because…" Jenny hesitated. This shouldn't be so hard to admit just because Jethro was in the room. "I seduced him, a little. I never slept with him, but I did, as Jessica Seddon, become his girlfriend, and I infiltrated his Trust cell." She smiled faintly. "So once he escaped, apparently he began formulating a plan for revenge. After a year he killed Greer in his trademark fashion, and then, two months later, I started getting threatening notes from him. The first was just his usual taunt, and I responded by increasing my security detail, but the second... He said that if he couldn't get to me, he'd go after someone I cared about."

"So that's when you decided to fake your death?" Gibbs asked, and for the first time, there wasn't any anger in his voice.

"Yes," she said, looking him in the eye. "I thought that it I was dead, he would have no reason to go after anyone connected to me. When I found out that Will had been murdered, it seemed like the best way to kill two birds with one stone."

"That's a painfully appropriate cliché," Ashley muttered.

Claudia scowled at her. "So, what does all this have to do with us and the mess last year – well, except for the fact that it's Helen?"

"There's that," Ashley said grimly, "and Paula also forgot to mention that when we caught Barnes, she saved my life. I owed her one, and I repaid it by setting Jenny up with the Samantha James identity."

"What mess are you talking about?" Ziva asked. The entire anomaly team exchanged looks.

"That's a very long story," Stephen told them.

"Oh, we're used to those," said Tony with a smirk and a quick glance at Ducky.

"We've got time," Gibbs said impatiently. "What happened?"

"Did you ever see that TV program Sliders?" Connor asked after everyone had been silent for a moment.

"I did," McGee said. "It was about this group of people who traveled to different realities trying to find their own, right?"

"Yeah," Connor confirmed. "Thing is, that whole alternate reality thing is real too, just like time travel and aliens and magic."

"That has to cause a lot of headaches," Abby S. observed.

"You have no idea," said Nick and Ashley together.

"Maybe you should start, Professor," Paula suggested.

"Yes, well… What you have to understand about Helen is that she's a little…"

"Vindictive?" Claudia suggested.

"Bitchy?" Stephen tried.

"Obsessive?" Abby M. put in.

"Yes, yes, all of those. Unfortunately, she's also brilliant, and rather… well, amoral is a better way of putting it than immoral."

"I'd say sociopathic, but that's just me," Ashley quipped.

"Anyway," Nick said sharply, "she didn't take it well when I… er… She thought that even though she disappeared for eight years, I was required to carry a torch for her forever. When I didn't, she reacted badly."

"How badly?" Gibbs asked.

"She threw me into another reality and made me think that it was my world, only something I had done in the past changed the timeline, and the differences…" He stopped for a moment and took a deep breath before continuing. "It was the worst thing she could have done to me, and she was well aware of that."

"You know, Jethro, I believe that beats even your seven iron story," Jenny teased. Gibbs scowled at her. Nick glared at her, not liking that something that still had him waking in the night with awful dreams could be turned into a joke. She gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, just an attempt to lighten the mood a bit. Continue, Professor."

"Right. Well, one of my coworkers in the other reality was that world's version of Ashley, and in that world a realities mishap had caused the destruction of Torchwood One, so she knew quite a lot about them. She guessed that my timeline theory was wrong almost right off and managed to prove what had really happened. She built a machine to send me back, but…"

"Meanwhile, on this side, I got sent here to fix the switch – we figured out that it was an AR issue much sooner here," Ashley took up the thread of the story easily. "When Nick came back, he wasn't alone – there were two other versions of him along for the ride."

"Which meant we had four Cutters here at once," Connor said. "Lester's reaction was really funny."

"He doesn't seem like a pleasant guy," Tony said.

"He's not," Ashley, Paula, and Jenny said in unison before grinning at each other.

"So what happened with the four Cutters?" Abby S. wanted to know.

"Well, I used my counterpart's notes to recreate the device she used to send Nick back – minus the miscalculations that caused the extra passengers. But when we went to the designated spot to use it, Helen showed up. She was trying to stop us – and most likely kill Nick and Claudia later – but she was killed, or so we thought, by her former partner-in-crime."

"Who was that?" asked Ducky.

"The Helen from the universe Nick was stuck in. Yes, I know it's a bit convoluted, but it's what happened. We thought she was dead, but it turned out that the Helen who attacked us was a clone."

"You guys realize this story has the basic premises of about half the sci-fi flicks out there, right?" Tony asked.

"What, are you a movie critic in your spare time?" Paula wanted to know.

"No, but I should be. Hey, think they offer part-time positions?" That comment was rewarded with a headslap. "Thank you, boss."

"Maybe I should try that sometime," Claudia mused.

"Don't bother," Paula said. "I tried. It doesn't pack the same punch when a girl does it. Sexist, I know, but there it is."

"Who did you try it on?" Jenny wanted to know. "And I don't think I ever…"

"You talk in your sleep; I found out quite a lot that way on the drive back to D.C.," Paula explained. "And I tried it on Cole and Caleb, and a few of the interns over the years. It works on interns, but they're generally scared of everything. Unless Leon recruited them; he's nicer about it than the others are."

"Vance recruits?" Tony said, amused.

"He used to, it was his main job before he went shadow. Jenny's sister was his last, and she was really his protégé if he ever had one. That's a big part of why Alex was able to get you guys here – she knows just what buttons to push. If I had to guess, I'd say she threatened to involve his wife, and he caved."

"What I want to know," Stephen said, bringing them all back to the situation at hand, "is how we got from knowing Helen wasn't really dead to her working with Nash again."

"Yeah, well…" Paula began. "We think it's something to do with the Colonel."

"Who's that?" Gibbs asked.

"The head of the Trust. That's the only name we have, and no, I don't know if he ever was really military. Finding out his identity is what Alex is up to – that's part of why I kept her out of this part of the investigation – but if we get the chance to learn it here, that'd be perfect. I was trying to learn that eight years ago, but… well, none of the perps had the info we needed, obviously."

"But it seems that Helen has a direct line to him, and while that doesn't necessarily mean she knows his true identity, we might get a face or a means of contact. Something. The Trust has been an issue for Torchwood as well," Ashley said. "Jack – the Torchwood director – wants the group taken down as badly as Hasling does."

"And what does Lester think of all this?" Ducky asked.

"He just wants Helen caught," Ashley said. "So in the end, hopefully we all get what we want."

Gibbs just managed to hold back a snort. He now had information, but not the answers he wanted. And he suspected that the only one who could give him those was not inclined to do so. Well, that was just too damn bad. Whether she liked it or not, Jenny Shepard was going to tell him what he wanted to know, one way or another.

A/N: Sorry to anyone who's read both Paradigm Shift and Ripple Effect, as this was a recap chapter in many ways, but I figured I'd fill in the characters and any readers who didn't know all the backstory in one go. As to the 'Abby M.' and 'Abby S.' thing, well… there are two of them, I had to do something.


	7. Conversations

Disclaimer: Not mine.

_**Chapter 6 – Conversations:**_ Gibbs grabbed Jenny's arm when the group left the conference room, pulling her into an empty office. "That was a nice story," he said, "but it still doesn't explain why you didn't say anything."

"Weren't you listening, Jethro?"

"Yeah, I was, and I didn't hear anything in that which said you had to fly solo on this one. Damn it, Jenny, you could have said something."

Jenny sighed. "No, I couldn't. I didn't want you – any of you – to know; wasn't it bad enough I'd already put you in danger simply because I pissed off Nash? Besides, I thought the Frog fiasco proved that I really shouldn't involve anyone else in my personal problems."

"What about Ravenwood and Stafford then, or your sister?"

"Paula was already involved, and it's impossible to keep Alex out of anything. Paula got Ashley into this, not me."

"What about Ducky?" he demanded.

"That wasn't planned. What you have to understand is that things were never supposed to go the way they did. I was supposed to 'die' in a car crash after coming back from L.A. But when I got there and realized that Svytlena was back, I… well, when I nearly died, Paula saw an opportunity. Unfortunately she didn't get the chance to come up with something to fool Ducky. She had two choices, either to tell him the truth or to mess with his mind."

"If she could fool DiNozzo and David, why not Ducky?"

"Because what she did was something called a glamour spell, and it's visual only. From what she said, I gathered that she made a Jane Doe look like me and planted the body for Tony and Ziva to find. But that wouldn't stand up to an autopsy, so…"

Gibbs scowled. "How long have you known about this shit? Did your sister tell you years ago, back when you and I were partners? Because I seem to remember you telling me she was just a civilian who worked for the Air Force."

"No, I didn't know until that job with Paula. After that, I paid Alex a visit, and I wasn't too happy that she'd lied to me. But we've gotten past that, though she apparently hasn't learned her lesson about meddling."

"Yeah, well, I'm glad she did. Tell me something, Jen, were you coming back after all this was cleared up?"

Jenny blinked at him, her expression suddenly akin to that of a deer caught in headlights. "I… I hadn't decided yet."

"_What?_ Why? Were you just thinking you could let us go on thinking you were dead permanently, that there was nothing wrong with that?"

"For all you knew, I was dying anyway! Don't think I don't know that you were interrogating Ducky about my health, and I assume he told you what he thought when I 'died' to make it all a little easier."

"He said you were sick, and that you were dying anyway. Was it true?"

"Not the dying part, no. I am sick, but they caught it early, and my life expectancy… They said maybe I'll lose a couple years, as much from the effects of the medicine I'm taking as anything, but overall I'm fine."

"Well then, why not come back?"

"What was I supposed to do, just show up one day?"

"That would be better than…" _Better than for me to keep on thinking you were six feet under, and that if I'd been less wrapped up in being pissed at you that I could have done something to prevent it. _But he didn't say that. Instead, he spat, "But you really don't give a damn, do you?"

That was when she slapped him. "For your information, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, I care a lot more than people think, and probably more than I should. Don't you understand? That's why I did this. I couldn't bear it if my issues got anyone else hurt! It was bad enough the first time!" She stormed away, leaving him staring after her.

* * *

"Why didn't you tell us?" Nick demanded. Ashley sighed, looking at the expressions on her teammates' faces. They were not happy, and she couldn't exactly blame them. "We deserved to know what Helen was involved in."

Damn it all, but she really hated conflicting loyalties. Jack had told her to keep the whole Trust thing quiet for now – he didn't want Lester trying to take over the investigation, which would have likely been the bureaucrat's response. But while his reasoning had made sense at the time, Ashley now wished she'd argued harder for permission to explain things in more depth. She was really getting sick of getting raked over the coals by one group or the other just because she had to play both sides. This job hadn't been her idea, after all, even if she'd agreed to it.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I was under orders not to say anything. Jack was afraid Lester might attempt to take over the way he won't let Paula and Jenny take down Nash," she informed them tiredly. "And I don't blame him for that – I think he had a point."

"You could still have said something," Claudia pointed out. "It's not like you've ever been all that bound by orders."

"This is different. You don't understand, these people… They even had a U.S. presidential candidate at one point, and he wound up as vice president for a while. They're dangerous, and they're more like terrorists than anything else. Face it, this team is not designed for that – we're a glorified clean-up crew in some ways, and while what we do is important, this kind of investigation isn't our usual sort of thing."

"You know, if you really think we're useless, you shouldn't be here," Stephen observed quietly.

"I don't think that! I just… Look, it's different skill sets. None of us – me included – are trained in investigation. Jack's dragged me into some cases, but it's really not my gig. That's why Jack didn't think it was necessary for me to tell you. I did ask, but he wouldn't agree."

"Just try to give us a warning next time," Nick said, relenting. Ashley smiled, relieved.

"Thanks." But this didn't solve anything, not really. She, Jack, and possibly Lester were going to have to sit down and hash out the exact boundaries of her position, because all of this conflict was getting ridiculous. But that could wait until this latest crisis was over.

* * *

"Director Vance's office."

"Hello, I need to speak with the Director. Tell him Paula Ravenwood is on the line, I'm sure he'll pick up."

Paula listened to the click as the line transferred, followed by a familiar male voice. "Vance."

"Hello, Leon. Next time you decide to send your agents into one of my operations, kindly do me the common courtesy of informing me first."

There was a sigh on the other end of the line. "Paula. Look, it happened rather quickly, and in my defense, I wasn't aware that you were currently in London. No one mentioned that this case was tied to the Trust investigation."

"So Alex didn't tell you not to tell me?"

"No, she didn't."

"Good. That means she's in a little less trouble."

"You know she was only trying to help her sister. There's nothing wrong with that."

"She was under orders not to intervene in this part of the case. I know you have a soft spot for her, but you're more of a stickler for rules than I am; certainly you can understand where I'm coming from. I'm a superior officer, and she deliberately went against my orders. I'm surprised you went along with it – or did she threaten to bring Jackie into it?"

"What do you think?"

"Ouch. Low blow on her part." Paula frowned, and then continued. "Look, just do me a favor and give me a heads-up the next time there's even a chance that someone's interfering in my cases."

"Fine. So tell me, how much blood was spilled when they found out Jenny was alive?"

"Shockingly, I have no serious injuries to report – yet. It's early days yet, and Gibbs is still seething."

"I've dealt with that before, and all I can say is, better you than me."

"Oh, very funny. It shouldn't be a problem; I think the only one he's truly pissed at is Jenny."

"Understandably. I always thought there was something more between them, but they were always good at avoiding the subject, so I was never able to confirm it."

"Hmm," was all Paula said to that one. _She_ knew, but she was hardly going to say anything. "OK, well, I suppose I'll let you get back to your important Director work." She hung up after he said good-bye and leaned against the wall with a sigh. She'd intended to rip him a new one over not warning her about the NCIS agents, but she hadn't really seen the point. They were here, and yelling at Leon wouldn't change that.

She didn't like this, not at all. Nash had proven himself to be a slippery character, and Helen seemed to have perfected the talent of eluding capture. The thought of them working together, when she knew it wasn't their first time doing so…

She was scared. That wasn't something that happened often, not anymore. But she didn't know what was going to happen next. Nash wanted her and Jenny dead, Helen wanted Nick, Claudia, and probably Ashley dead. Hell, considering how possessive the woman was, she might even be gunning for Captain Ryan. He was, after all, Stephen Hart's lover, as Stephen had once been Helen's lover. Worse than that, both of them were unpredictable, and technically they were terrorists as well – after a fashion.

Maybe it would be good to have the NCIS agents here. They had investigative experience, something that the anomaly team didn't have, as much as Paula respected the group for the things that they were good at. But expertise aside, having more manpower couldn't hurt. And that was the real reason she hadn't flipped out on Leon, and why she wasn't going to be too hard on Alex. Because she suspected that before all was said and done, she would be glad of the other agent's meddling.

A/N: Kind of a filler chapter, yes, but big things can't happen in every scene.


	8. Forging and Reforging

Disclaimer: It's not mine. Why would you think it was? Lyle belongs to fredbassett, as does the nickname habit, but I chose the nicknames listed here.

_**Chapter 7 – Forging and Reforging:**_ McGee wasn't entirely sure how he'd wound up in this room, but he was glad that he had. Most of it was taken up by a mass of computer monitors that were recording… something. He moved closer to examine it, wondering what it was. From what he could tell, it seemed to be tracking radio waves, but why would anyone need to do that?

"That's our anomaly detector," said a voice from behind him. McGee turned to see the kid from the anomaly team, Connor Temple.

"Why does it track radio waves?"

"Well, because the anomalies, for some reason, mess with them. We think it's because they're magnetic fields, though we're not entirely sure yet. It was something we found out by accident."

"Huh. So who designed this thing?"

"I did. I'm really good with computers."

"Really? Ever hacked into the CIA?"

"No. I tried Torchwood once; Ashley had to keep her boss from trying to kill me." Connor grinned. "So, you're the team's technical go-to guy, then?"

"That's me," McGee nodded. "I'm going to guess that's your job too?"

"That and my dinosaur database."

"You have a dinosaur database?"

"I had to do something when I wasn't playing video games or online RPGs." Connor's eyes lit up at McGee's words.

"Really? I play a load of those." And he rattled off the names of the various online games that he played. One of them was very familiar to the American agent.

"I play that one! I'm Elflord, what's your name?"

Connor grinned. "TimeWanderer," he said. "Wait a minute… Didn't we work together to take out the Sorcerer of Naginn?"

"You know something? I think we might have. Small world, isn't it?"

* * *

"Direc – Jenny? What do I call you now, anyway?" Jenny looked around and smiled at Abby.

"Jenny's fine," she told the Goth. "So, how are you doing, Abby?"

"I'd be better if I wasn't so confused," the younger woman said frankly. "Why did you do it, Jenny? You had to know all of us would do anything we could to help you if you were in trouble? Didn't you?"

"I… It's beside the point, Abby. I didn't want any of you to take that chance."

"But you knew we would have, right? Right?" When Jenny didn't respond, unwilling to lie to the girl she thought of almost as a daughter, or at least another little sister, Abby's eyes narrowed.

"You can't really think that!" she exclaimed. "When you… It was horrible. I've never seen Tony look that guilty, not even when Kate died. At least then, he was able to know that he could have never done anything, that no one knew what was coming. But he felt so awful knowing he'd let you down. And Ziva was just as bad."

Jenny opened her mouth to say something – she didn't know what – but Abby shook her head, continuing with her tirade. "Ducky didn't tell stories again for two months, Timmy didn't know what to think, and I… It was like losing my mother, it really was. Gibbs, he just walked around with this empty look in his eyes, like he'd never be the same again. And he got better, but he never was the same. None of us were. We needed you!" Abby was crying by this point, proving that the 'waterproof' label on her eye makeup was just a marketing ruse, as her tears were black. Jenny hesitated before hugging the younger woman, not sure how the gesture would be taken. But when Abby wrapped her arms around the redhead and cried on her shoulder, Jenny relaxed a bit, feeling her own eyes sting.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to hurt any of you, I just wanted to keep you safe. I didn't know it would upset you all this much, I thought you'd just move on."

"How could you think that?" Abby asked, her voice muffled because she hadn't raised her head.

"After everything I put you all through, how could I expect that you would still care? I was so sure that I'd done too much, and that none of you would ever forgive me."

Abby pulled back just enough to look Jenny in the eye. "Well, you know now," she said, her voice sounding more than a little lost. "If you'd known then, would you have still done this?"

"I… Probably," Jenny said. "It wouldn't have changed the danger, and I would still have had to leave. But if I'd known the effect it would have…" She would have lied this time if she'd had to. Anything to chase away that wounded look in Abby's eyes. But she didn't have to. The truth was enough this time. "If I had known, I promise I would have said something. I wouldn't have just let you think I was really gone."

Abby smiled. "Good. That means you won't do something like this again." She hugged the older woman. "I'm so glad you're not dead! I really missed you, you know. Ziva doesn't have a clue about girl talk. Didn't you teach her in Cairo?"

Jenny laughed. "We had other things to worry about in Cairo. Terrorists tend to be distracting."

"Oh," Abby said. "So, what have you been doing for all this time? I mean, if you were just hiding, it had to get really boring."

"Well, I was pretending to be a private detective. Samantha Spade or something, I guess. So it was mostly following cheating husbands, that sort of thing. But I got tangled up with the anomaly project a few times – on one memorable occasion Ashley and I nearly got eaten by a velociraptor, but that's a long story."

Abby's eyes widened. "Oh no, you absolutely cannot get away with 'that's a long story' about something that crazy! You have to tell me everything. How did you get away, and what exactly were you doing being hunted by a velociraptor in the first place?"

Jenny sighed. "It wasn't intentional! However…"

* * *

"You two look like you could use some stress relief," said a voice. Tony and Ziva looked around to see two SAS officers. One of them had very short light brown hair, while the other had slightly shaggier black hair. It was the brown-haired one who had spoken. "I'm Captain Lyle," he continued, "and this is Captain Becker." He indicated the black-haired soldier.

"Agent DiNozzo and Officer David," Tony said. "What did you have in mind, Lyle?"

It turned out that they had a shooting range in mind. Ziva agreed immediately – Tony wasn't surprised at all – and he went along because he couldn't think of anything better to do with his time. And to his surprise, it actually did help. He'd never tried shooting practice as stress relief before; he was more likely either to veg out with a pizza and _Magnum_ or else go to the gym, depending on his mood.

"So," Lyle began afterwards, when they'd stopped off at a pub to grab something to eat. "Sherlock's one of you?"

"Sorry?" Tony asked.

"'Sherlock' is Samantha James – or Jenny Shepard, right?" Becker translated. "This one's got nicknames for practically everyone. A lot of them are Lord of the Rings, like Stafford, who's Eowyn, but some of them aren't. Ravenwood's the Valkyrie. Shepard got stuck with Sherlock because she's a private eye."

"Oh," said Tony, only a little less confused. He considered asking why the nicknames, but decided against it. "Yeah, Jenny's one of us – or she was, anyway. Don't know if that's still true, considering she played us all for idiots. I mean, seems like she had a good reason, but it still sucks. We were her dupes, after all."

"Damn," said Lyle. "Sounds like you're pretty pissed."

"And you think we shouldn't be?" Ziva challenged. "As Tony said, we were tricked. Good reason or not."

"Hey, we never said you shouldn't be mad," Becker said quickly. "Though it certainly seems to help your aim. You're good for a pair of government cops."

"I am a Mossad officer," Ziva said coolly. Both men's eyes widened, then narrowed. Their bodies shifted slightly, just enough to tell both Tony and Ziva that they were now on their guard. They'd probably heard a lot about Mossad – hell, they were special ops; they might have even worked with Mossad before.

"Relax guys; our ninja-chick has very good control. She might be able to kill someone with a paper clip thirty different ways, but she behaves unless it's a bad guy. And even then she doesn't kill the dirtbags, though they deserve it sometimes."

"Well then, I'll just have to make sure she's on my team when it comes to a fight," Becker said finally. "And I'll take you too, DiNozzo – everyone knows partners shouldn't be split up."

* * *

"So Paula was saying you worked with Torchwood once?" Ashley asked the M.E. curiously.

"Oh, yes, I got myself caught up in quite a mess," Ducky said reminiscently. "I had just finished my schooling, and I ended up working at a morgue in Cardiff of all places. The police brought a body in at about one A.M., and it looked human enough until I opened it up. Then, well! If I remember correctly, the whole thing was green goo inside. I couldn't find a single organ. That was when Captain Harkness showed up, about five seconds before some of the thing's friends did. It was three weeks before they were all taken care of and stopped hunting me – they took umbrage at the autopsy, apparently."

"I'm surprised Jack didn't retcon you," Ashley said, shaking her head.

"Ah, that would be the memory drug, yes?" At Ashley's nod, the Scot continued, "Yes, well, he did mention it, but the kind that Cardiff had in those days caused total amnesia half the time, and made a few people lose their minds entirely, and he said it would be a waste to do that to me. And I tell a lot of stories, but even I knew better than to tell anyone that one. I wouldn't want to be shut away, after all."

Ashley grinned, though it was hard to. She still remembered Yvonne threatening to "shut away" her journalist stepbrother when he'd begun poking at Torchwood. It was the final straw that had made her start planning the palace coup which had ousted Yvonne and brought Jack in – though Jack's ascension had been a surprise twist.

"Tell me," the doctor said more seriously, "how has Jennifer been? She was ill, before…"

"Yeah, I know. She still is, sort of, but she's got meds, and she's OK. Physically anyway. I think she was a little depressed though; no matter what, she didn't like leaving you lot."

"No, I didn't think she would."

Ashley paused, wondering if she was willing to chance it, and then decided she might as well. "Her and Gibbs… What's with them?"

"They were partners once."

"Uh-huh. They weren't acting like all they had was a working relationship."

Ducky frowned at her. "I'm afraid it's not my place to say," he said sharply.

"Which basically confirms what you won't say outright," Ashley pointed out. "Look, I get that you don't want to share confidences. It's just… They shouldn't be at odds like this. They could lose each other again in a flash, and it just seems so pointless. I don't suppose you'd know how to fix it?"

"That, my dear girl, is something I have been trying to figure out for a long time. Sadly, I never did come up with an answer."

* * *

Nick wasn't sure if he ought to approach the American agent, but something in Gibbs' demeanor was oddly familiar. He just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Hell of a lot to get used to, isn't it?" he said conversationally.

"Uh-huh."

"Look, what I said earlier… It was uncalled for."

"Yeah, well, you wanted to keep your little secret, didn't you? That's all anyone's doing around here." Gibbs scowled. "So how much did you people know about all this?"

"Just the shit Helen pulled on me last year, and that she was working with Nash," Nick said. "Nothing about the Trust – and we've already taken Ashley to task for that one – or about Samantha's real identity. All we knew about her was that she was a private eye friend of Ashley's who helped us out with our stuff when her caseload was light or she got bored."

"Jenny as a private eye? God, that's ridiculous," Gibbs muttered. "Wasting her skills, there and behind a goddamn desk in D.C."

Nick decided not to comment on that one. Clearly Samantha – or Jenny, whatever – was the real source of the other man's black mood, not any of the other revelations that had been thrust on him. It wasn't his place to say or do anything, but if he knew either of them better he would advise that they sit down and have a very long discussion – or argument, as it seemed they both had quick tempers – to get it all out in the open. But he didn't know them well, and so it wasn't his business.

However, he did hope that they worked something out. It didn't take a genius to tell that there was history there – hell, a blind man could see it – and Nick knew better than anyone that with things like that, you had to seize the moment. He would never forget what it felt like to think he'd lost his chance, or the amazing feeling of getting that chance back. It seemed to him that these two had that second chance, and he really hoped they didn't squander it. It was too much of a waste.

A/N: Hope you liked it.


	9. Settling Some Differences

Disclaimer: It's not mine. Why would you think it was? Lyle belongs to fredbassett.

_**Chapter 8 – Settling Some Differences**_: "OK, what did you and Gibbs get into it about this time?" Paula wanted to know. Jenny scowled at her.

"None of your business," she snapped.

"Jenny…"

"Paula, leave it alone!"

The witch's eyes narrowed and she glared at the former Director. "Fine. But you know something? My sisters, Piper and Phoebe? Between the two of them, their love lives have been so rough that I think Shakespeare would have been impressed, and he wrote Romeo and Juliet. Your sister talks about Carter and O'Neill, and God knows they had a lot to go through."

"Is there a point to all of this?" Jenny wanted to know.

"Yeah. They stuck it out, all of them, and now… Well, nothing's perfect, but they're happy."

Jenny shook her head. "That ship sailed a long time ago. I made my choices, and I have to live with them. Even if… even if I'd do things differently if I could. I can't, so what good is it to think like that?"

"Oh, Jenny…"

"Did you just want to give me unsolicited advice, or did you actually have something important to share?" Jenny asked brusquely. Paula sighed before relenting, knowing that there really was no point to continuing this right now.

"Jack thinks he has a lead on our duo, and he wants Ash and me to swing by the Tower to check things out."

"And what are the rest of us supposed to do?"

Paula shrugged. "I don't know. You might try talking to DiNozzo and David, though. I got the impression they didn't take being played for fools very well."

"God." Jenny sighed. "I have to point out that technically it was you who did that."

"You're the one who fobbed them off in the first place, or they'd have been in that diner with you and I'd have had my work really cut out for me. But even ignoring that, they don't know me. They know you, so their anger's directed at you."

"What are you, a shrink?"

"I'm a profiler and a telepath, so close enough."

"True."

* * *

Stephen shook his head as he handed Ryan a cup of coffee. It was an unspoken rule between them that whichever one of them got away from work sooner would manage to grab coffee from the shop three blocks from the Home Office building, a tiny place they'd discovered one day when the coffeepot in the break room had stopped working. "You know, that NCIS team is going to be the death of us. Their boss orders them all around and they snap to like he was God or something. Ravenwood says their reputation is brilliant, but…"

"Well, if Sherlock's an example of what comes out of that agency, then they've got to be good," Ryan said with a shrug. "And I know the lead agent anyway; met him back when he was a Marine. I don't think he'd waste time on anyone who wasn't good."

"Gibbs was a Marine?"

"Yeah, he was over in Desert Storm, same as I was. We met when we were all tossed together on a base – it was me, him, and some USAF flight jockey, O'Neill. We had a few drinks, spent some time talking… Just taking advantage of the fact that we were still breathing. I heard O'Neill got captured not long after that, but Stafford mentioned to me that he got out and ended up mixed in with some alien shit over in the States."

"And you're on the anomaly project, and Gibbs has been thrown in with us. That's odd, that you'd all end up in what Ashley likes to call the 'weird sector'."

"The Valkyrie uses that name too, so I think it's just something they all do," said a cheerful voice. Lyle grinned as he walked in, completely unfazed by the glares of the other two men. "If you want to flirt, do it on your own time," he informed them.

"We were talking about the Americans," Stephen said. "Turns out Ryan knows Gibbs from Desert Storm."

"Good. When we finally make our move, you can have him on your team. I don't want him."

"Why not?"

"He'll try and order me around, I expect. Since he knows you, you'll work better together."

"You're planning the teams already?" Stephen wanted to know.

"Yeah. And Lester says I've got to take you, Hart; something about wanting to keep the 'appearance of propriety'."

"He's shagging you, the bloody hypocrite," Ryan grumbled.

"Yeah, but if someone over his head thinks he's letting office romance affect the field, he's out and I've heard his likely replacement in that case is some bitch named Christine who we don't want near us if our lives depended on it. So for right now, all of us kiddies will be on our very best behavior. So you're with me, Hart, and I'd better take Sherlock as well since Gibbs will be with Ryan here and Becker's already staked a claim on David and DiNozzo."

"Why don't you want them with Sam – Jenny?" Stephen asked.

"They're pissed at her, just like Gibbs is. Don't want any fights distracting us, do we?"

"God no," Ryan muttered. "With Helen and her new boy toy, we'll have enough to worry about."

* * *

Tony and Ziva were outside, watching the London foot traffic when they heard someone cough behind them. Both turned to see Jenny looking tense and a little uncertain, but still very much the composed woman they both knew. The partners exchanged a glance, wondering what their former boss wanted.

"I wanted to speak with you both… about L.A.," Jenny began slowly.

"What is there to say, Jenny?" Ziva wanted to know. "You used us."

"Again," Tony said quietly. Jenny flinched.

"I'd say that's fair except it… It wasn't planned, and it wasn't my idea. L.A. wasn't supposed to happen, even after I knew that the Russian job had come back to bite me on the ass. I wanted to keep the two of you out of the crossfire – especially since the last time I involved anyone else in my personal conflicts, it went to hell." Her eyes were on Tony as she said that last, and he knew it was the closest she could come to an apology for what she'd put him through with Jeanne.

Still, he wasn't going to let her off the hook. "So what was the plan?"

"I was going to stop Svytlena and her goons, and then fake my death in a car crash so that Nash would have no reason to go after anyone close to me. I reckoned without Paula's sister, who can see the future. She saw me getting shot, and Paula rushed off to L.A., setting things up so that it would seem I'd died in the diner, while sending me off to London to recuperate and hide." Jenny shook her head. "In hindsight it's a good thing that Phoebe – the sister I mentioned – saw what happened, because from what Paula said, I would have died if she hadn't gotten there when she did."

"What about Franks?" Ziva said, frowning.

"I don't know; Paula never said if he was there when she arrived or not." Jenny had never asked. She'd dragged Franks into the mess, and she didn't want to know if Paula had messed with his mind to get him out of there. The girl she'd worked with in New Orleans wouldn't have done it, but the Assistant Director of DESI might well have. She wasn't entirely sure what Paula had done in the intervening years, though she knew there had been some kind of mess in Central Asia. The details of that job or any other had somehow never come up in the various times they'd met for coffee or lunch over the years.

"Don't know or don't want to know?" Tony asked sharply.

"Both," Jenny admitted.

"If she did mind-rape him… What if she'd had to do the same to us?" he continued.

"I wasn't exactly in a position to stop her if she had," Jenny defended herself.

"True," Tony pressed, "but would you at least have been upset later? Did you care that she played us the way she did or were you just glad she pulled it off?"

"Tony…" Ziva began. She wanted answers as well, but it was clear that Jenny hadn't intended for them to get caught up in this, and that had been enough for her. But not for Tony. She understood that – he had unresolved issues with Jenny – but she wasn't sure now was the time.

"No, Ziva, it's fine," Jenny said even as she locked eyes with Tony. "I didn't like what happened. Among other things, I knew the both of you could be in trouble, though you were only following my orders. But what was done was done, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. If she had used her telepathy… I couldn't have changed it, but no, I would not have been happy about it, and I imagine there would have been quite an argument over it."

She shook her head. "However, before either of you go off and scream at Paula for what she did do, I know it would have been much easier for her to simply mess with your minds. The same goes for Ducky – especially for Ducky. She had to tell him the truth so she wouldn't have to use her telepathy on him."

Tony glanced at Ziva, and Jenny recognized the silent communication of partners even before Tony turned that grin of his on her. "Truce?" he said, holding out a hand.

Jenny smiled, shaking the offered hand and smirking at Ziva. "Truce," she said firmly.

* * *

"OK, Jack, we're here, now what did you want to tell us?" Paula snapped, completely ignoring Gwen. Ashley rolled her eyes in exasperation; would they never get over it? She'd never been able to find out just what the issue was between Paula and Jack's girlfriend/second-in-command. Micah either didn't know or wouldn't say, Gwen wouldn't discuss it, and she'd never quite had the nerve to ask Paula. She suspected, however, that it was tied to the faint tingle her magic-sense (as she called it) gave off around the Welsh woman. It was as though she had magic, but it was locked away somewhere.

Jack ignored the tension, as he always did when the two women were in the same room, and simply began his explanation. It turned out that Torchwood Intelligence had located a Trust cell in London and had been monitoring them – for five months.

"Hang on," Ashley interrupted. "Why wasn't I told this? We'd already figured out by this point that Helen had ties to the Trust; that's the kind of thing the anomaly team should know about… or at least that I should know about!"

Jack shrugged. "Thompson didn't think you could be trusted not to tell the others, and since it wasn't anything you needed to know yet, I didn't bother overruling him."

That. Was. It. "What the fuck!" Ashley exploded. Paula's eyebrows shot up, Jack scowled, and Gwen gave Jack an 'I told you so' glare. Ashley ignored it all as she continued. "Just what is it you people want from me? I'm supposed to be a liaison agent, I'm supposed to be told any and all information that could affect either agency, but I have Lester stonewalling me, you lot not trusting me, and my teammates are about to stop trusting me because they now know I don't tell them everything! I swear to god, Jack, if I'd known everyone would be screwing me over if I took this joint position, I'd have told you to stick it up your ass!"

"Finally," Gwen commented. "I've been expecting this for months."

"Gwen, you're not helping," Jack growled. "And as for you, Ashley, that's damn close to insubordination."

"Ask me if I care," the physicist snapped. "I've had it with juggling all of these bloody loyalties, Jack! Either everyone's going to have to trust me, or I'm going to have to resign from somewhere, and to be perfectly honest, I think the anomaly project has more need of me than Torchwood if it comes to that."

The silence after that one was deafening. That was when Paula intervened. "Hold it, Ashley. Jack, she's right. One of my duties as AD involves monitoring our liaison agents, and considering I'm engaged to your liaison with DESI, I think I'm more than qualified to have an opinion about the job. It's a shitty one, because everyone assumes that you're going to put the other organization first. Shadow agent's easier; most people don't know what you're up to. And you are not making things easier on Ashley by withholding stuff. Treat her the way you would Micah."

"No offense, but Hasling can't interfere with us that much, and even UNIT's got clear lines here in Britain. Lester, on the other hand, can and will interfere with us whenever he sees a chance."

"And he thinks the same of you," Ashley observed bitterly. "I think you're both just paranoid."

Jack sighed. "Look, Ashley… When this is over, I'll sit down with you and Lester, and we'll hash this out. But for now, we've got a pair of Trust operatives to catch, all right?"

"Fine," Ashley said, "we'll shelve it for now. But Jack, I mean it, I want this resolved."

"OK, and we'll get it resolved. But let's get Helen and Nash put away first."

Ashley nodded, and Paula leaned forward. "So, Jack," she said, "what's the story?" She seemed to have curbed her own irritation, most likely because she thought that there was enough temper in the room. Ashley was glad of it. She needed a distraction now, and getting back to the main problem worked just fine.

"Well, it seems that Helen and Nash have managed to find the local cell we've been monitoring, and they've got plans to attack at three places: the half-built satellite office in Chelsea, the warehouse where the anomaly team first tried to use the CRD, and… Well, actually, we're not sure where the last attack is going to be, but we do know they're planning a three-prong attack."

"Do you have times?" Ashley said.

"No," Gwen said ruefully. "They made Thompson, and we haven't been able to get another agent close enough."

"Wonderful," said Paula caustically.

"Well, it's better than nothing," Gwen said fairly.

"Whatever, _Gwyn_," the redhead said coolly. Gwen stiffened, her face white, and Jack glared at Paula.

"That's enough, Paula. You're a big fan of free will, so you should accept Gwen's choices."

Ashley was completely lost, but she didn't bother to demand an explanation. They had a little more to go on, but not much. She only hoped that it would be enough when the time came, because last time Helen had come very close to success. Had her counterpart not intervened at the right time, Ashley suspected things might have gone very badly for the team that day. They couldn't count on such good luck this time.


	10. No Calm Before the Storm

Disclaimer: Not mine.

_**Chapter 9 – No Calm Before the Storm**_: "Therefore, given the current circumstances, my recommendation is that the civilians, both anomaly team and Americans, divide amongst the three SAS teams, so that we can all be prepared whenever Helen and Nash choose to strike." Ashley spoke formally, the best way to behave with Lester when she was officially acting as liaison.

"And why doesn't Torchwood handle the presumed attack on their outpost?" Lester demanded.

"Apparently, sir, you told Captain Harkness that you wanted him to stay out of this. He's simply acceding to your request."

Lester scowled. "For once, you mean. And of course, he waits until it's extremely inconvenient for him to do so."

"Well, yes, that is his usual MO," Ashley pointed out. "Look, the Captain's advice is sound, and to be honest, I don't see any problems with what he said. If I know Becker, Ryan, and Lyle, they've already got things planned out."

"Fine. But since you're so supportive of this, then you can tell the SAS captains, and you can be in charge of coordinating this. Harkness is refusing to allow Torchwood to take proper responsibility, but as you are Torchwood, you can make up for his laziness."

Ashley just managed to keep from rolling her eyes, though she couldn't keep the insolent tone from her voice. "Whatever you say, sir." Then she rose and left the office, letting the door slam behind her. At this point, she didn't care if such behavior was unprofessional. She was too pissed off at both of her bosses to give a damn.

* * *

She made her way to the gym that the SAS men had managed to get installed, at least until the anomaly project was moved. There was talk of a building of their own, one that would likely have the name of the ARC, just like the facility in the other reality. Nick had not been happy, but Lester hadn't cared. But until – and if, because apparently the Prime Minister thought it might cost too much – they got their own facility, they had to make do here.

Luckily for her, all three SAS captains were here, along with Stephen, who seemed to be distracted by his own workout by Ryan's exertions. Copying the gesture she'd already observed Agent Gibbs use a couple of times, she slapped Stephen upside the head.

"What was that for?" he grumbled.

"Eye up your boyfriend on your own time, Hart. We've got trouble."

"What's wrong with you, Eowyn?" Lyle asked. Ashley rolled her eyes.

"Torchwood agents have proof that Helen and Nash are planning to set us up in three different places," she began, before outlining all that Jack had told her and Paula earlier.

"Wonderful," Becker grumbled. He hadn't had that much to do with Helen – the  
SAS officers had not been present when the warehouse incident had gone down – but he'd heard more than enough to be very irritated at the thought of having to deal with her. "So, what's the plan?"

"I was hoping you lot had decided which of us civilians would be attached to each of your teams when the time came," Ashley explained.

The soldiers exchanged grins. "Well, Becker's laid claim to DiNozzo and David," Ryan said, "and I've got Gibbs since we knew each other in Desert Storm."

"Did you really?" Ashley cut in, surprised.

"Apparently yes," Stephen said. "Lyle said he'd take Jenny because of how tense things are with her and Gibbs."

"OK," Ashley said, nodding. "Well, Ryan, why don't Nick and I go with you – I know you still don't trust him running off on his own? Becker can take Claudia and Paula, while McGee and Connor can go with Lyle."

"I'm with Lyle as well," Stephen said. "Something about Lester wanting to play down the office romance while we're being watched."

"Oh, lovely," Ashley muttered. "Well, I'd best tell the others, and I guess you'll want to tell your men. We don't know when the calls will come in."

* * *

Jenny went back outside after the briefing, wanting a chance to think. This was it, finally. After Nash was taken out, she would be free to do… What? To go back to her life? Could she still do that, after all this time? Did she even want to? And if she didn't go back, what was she supposed to do with the rest of her life?

She heard footsteps behind her but didn't even bother to turn. She knew who it was.

"You know, I still don't get it," Jethro said as he came up next to her.

"Don't get what, Jethro?"

"It just seems like a lot of trouble to go to, for one guy. Faking your death, hiding away in London… Why didn't you or Ravenwood just take this guy out in the first place, if he's that dangerous?"

Jenny scowled. "It wasn't my place to make that call," she told him evenly. "I wasn't the lead on the mission. Rule 38: Your case, your lead."

"Don't quote my damn rules back at me, Jen."

"Is there anything else you wanted to know?"

"Yeah, actually. The Frog."

"What about him?"

"Did you kill him?"

"No."

He rolled his eyes. "He was shot with your gun, and unlike what you told Fornell, you didn't give it to him."

"I noticed you didn't correct me at the time."

"Jenny… Don't play games with me."

"Like I said, I didn't kill him. I came down to the study the next morning and the gun was gone. I don't know what happened to it, and I haven't got a clue where it is now. I didn't mention it because it sounds ridiculous."

"You're right, it does. If someone broke in, wouldn't your alarm have gone off?"

"No one broke in, that's the thing. I checked, and it didn't even look like the lock had been picked."

"Who else had a key?"

"Alex."

"So did she kill him?"

Jenny shook her head. "Considering that she never agreed with my decision to hunt Grenouille down, and she tried to talk me out of putting Tony in deep cover, I highly doubt it."

"Then who took the gun?"

"I told you, I have no idea." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Why are you interrogating me about this?"

"I want to know what happened."

"No you don't," she challenged. "You don't care about Grenouille at all. You're just pushing me on this because you don't want to ask whatever it is that you really want to know. So what is it?"

She stepped forward, invading his personal space. Once, it would have been an invitation. Now it was all but a threat. She knew she was inviting a brutal response, but honestly she didn't give a damn anymore. None of them knew if they were coming out of this, and it just didn't seem to matter.

"Why did you leave?" he said finally, his voice low and more than a little ragged. Somehow she knew he wasn't talking about her latest stunt, but about a different leave-taking, in the city across the Channel from London.

She looked at him, considering what to say. And in the end, she answered with another question, because it was the reason, in the end. Beyond all the excuses of work and everything else she'd told herself, there really was only one reason why she'd walked away. "Why didn't you give me a reason to stay?"

He just stared at her, and at any other time the sight of Leroy Jethro Gibbs stunned speechless would have amused her. But he didn't get a chance to recover, and she didn't get a chance to say anything else, because they were interrupted.

"Hey," Ashley said. "Apparently Jack got to us just in time – they've made their move and we're heading out. Come on."

A/N: Ashley needs a vacation... And Jenny and Gibbs clearly need time for a good long talk, yes?


End file.
